AG Pam Bondi Loses in Congress Panel Hearing

Attorney General Pam Bondi’s recent testimony before the House Judiciary Committee was among the tensest and most combative appearances yet by a Trump Cabinet official, Aaron Blake wrote in an analysis for CNN.

A recent poll showed 66.6% of Americans condemn Trump’s handling of the Epstein files. (Photo: The United States Department of Justice Facebook)

Bondi entered the hearing with the administration and the Justice Department facing a series of problems, including their handling of the Jeffrey Epstein files, the newly reported failed indictments of six Democratic lawmakers, and the killing of two protesters by federal officers in Minneapolis last month.

She adopted a combative — but risky — strategy.

Democratic Rep. Pramila Jayapal of Washington asked Epstein survivors in the audience to stand. She then challenged Bondi on a difficult issue.

Jayapal asked Bondi, who had just apologized to the survivors for the abuse they suffered, to also apologize for the department’s failure to redact sensitive personal information.

Bondi paused, as if weighing her next move. Instead of apologizing, she pivoted to criticism of her predecessor, former Attorney General Merrick Garland.

The exchange devolved into arguments and personal attacks.

The Justice Department has acknowledged the redaction failures, and the survivors are among the most sympathetic figures imaginable. But Bondi chose combativeness over contrition.

She berated a lawmaker for attacking “the greatest president in American history,” Trump.

When Bondi claimed there was “no evidence that Donald Trump has committed a crime,” Democratic Rep. Ted Lieu of California pointed to what he described as an unsubstantiated tip from the Epstein files and accused Bondi of lying under oath, calling for her resignation.

Bondi countered that the lawmaker should focus on “horrific crimes in California.”

It appeared Bondi was playing to an “audience of one” — Trump — potentially at the expense of appealing to a broader public that wants answers.

A recent poll showed 66.6% of Americans condemn Trump’s handling of the Epstein files.